Happy Birthday Pat Benatar! Here Are Her 20 Greatest Songs

Pat Benatar burst on the scene in late 1979, and for most of the 80’s she ruled the charts and concerts stages. During the decade, she won four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Female Rock Vocal, had two Multi-Platinum albums, five Platinum albums, three Gold albums and 14 Top 40 singles. She was a also a huge presence in the early days of MTV, and was a fashion icon for her spandex and “Benatar Hair.”

Strangely, she rarely gets a mention when it comes to the “gay icon” label, even though she’s played countless Pride events, numerous AIDS Walks, and has always maintained that her gay audience is her favorite audience. And let’s face it, her music is all about being yourself and not taking shit from anyone, which is a message many of us of a certain age took to heart when we were young.

Today is her 61st birthday, so let’s pay tribute with a look back at her 20 greatest songs. Some were hits, and some are more obscure, but like the lady herself, they all kick-ass!

20. YOU BETTER RUN

Year: 1980
Hot 100 Peak: #42

This is Benatar at her most Benatar, and it’s the answer to the trivia question “What was the second music video played on MTV?”

19. PRECIOUS TIME

Year: 1981
Hot 100 Peak: N/A

Title track from her only #1 album, it’s another “cut the crap” song. Pat was born to be on MTV, and the video is a hoot, with the headband, and the rolls, and the mansion, split screens, and Neil Giraldo (her husband of over thirty years) shirtless in an … alien desert landscape?

Years before “Luka,” Pat took the subject of child abuse head on. This might rank higher if it weren’t for the fact that after it came out, my older sister would smack me in the back in the head and scream “Hell is For Children!”

13. HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

Year: 1981
Hot 100 Peak: #9

One of Pat’s signature songs, it was her first top ten hit, helped the album Crimes Of Passion become her biggest seller (and win her the first of four Grammy Awards), and is a true rock classic.

Her second top 40 hit, it incorporated elements of New Wave, and would have been at home on a Blondie record.

11. PROMISES IN THE DARK

Year: 1981
Hot 100 Peak: #38

Second single from Precious Time, I don’t why this didn’t score better on the chart. My favorite part is the silent moment near the end right before Pat belts out the final note, and you can hear Neil count her down.

10. SEX AS A WEAPON

Year: 1985
Hot 100 Peak: #28

Pat’s most critically reviled song, I remember it was actually featured in some book of the worst songs of all time. BAH!

Pat’s first top 40 hit, it showed us what to expect … that she wasn’t going to take any crap from any man.

8. LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD

Year: 1983
Hot 100 Peak: #5

Her biggest and most enduring hit, it won her the fourth and final Grammy of her career. The video, of course, is an all-time classic, and was the first to feature … dialogue! I can’t be the only one who screams out “Leave me alone” at the appropriate time when I’m listening to the song. Or maybe I am.

7. FIRE & ICE

Year: 1981
Hot 100 Peak: #17

First single from Precious Time, it won her a third Grammy for Rock Vocal, and it’s easy to see why. Pat belts with the best of them (she and Ann Wilson are probably tied for the best belters), and she barely comes up for air with “Fire & Ice.”

Another Grammy winner, it was Pat belting out another classic rock song. And I think this was the first music video I ever saw that had an actual story (and if you look closely, you’ll see Judge Reinhold and Bill Paxton in early roles).

4. WE BELONG

Year: 1984
Hot 100 Peak: #5

Her second biggest-hit, it marked a softer sound for Pat, as evidenced by its nomination for Best Pop Vocal Grammy instead of Rock Vocal. It’s from her greatest album, Tropico.

3. INVINCIBLE

Year: 1985
Hot 100 Peak: #10

Fair’s fair! Her final top ten hit, it’s from the cult classic The Legend Of Billy Jean, and is a karoake favorite for certain middle-aged gay men.

Third single from Crimes Of Passion, it somehow failed to chart at all. I think it’s the best song on the album, and is my favorite of the early Benatar. You dare mess with her? You’re gonna pay, you bastard.

1. PAINTED DESERT

Year: 1985
Hot 100 Peak: N/A

As i mentioned, Tropico gets my vote as Pat’s greatest album, and a couple of non-hits almost made this list (“Temporary Heroes,” “Diamond Fields,” “Love In The Ice Age”). The gorgeous “Painted Desert” was released as a single, but it didn’t chart, but is, in my opinion, Pat’s finest vocal performance.